Wednesday
5th Week of Lent
1st Reading: Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 (New American Bible) Daniel 3:14-20, 24-25, 28 (Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate)
Condemnation For Those Who Will Not Worship the Golden Image (Continuation)
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[14] Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-
nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image which I have
set up? [15] Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre,
trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and I have made, well
and good; but if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning
fiery furnace; and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?”
[16] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar,
we have no need to answer you in this matter. [17] If it be so, our God whom we
serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out
of your hand, O king. [18] But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not
serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
[19] Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression of his face was
changed against Shacirach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace
heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated. [20] And he ordered
certain mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
The King Acknowledges the God of the Jews
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[24] Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He said
to his counsellors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They an-
swered the king, “True, O king?" [25] He answered, “But I see four men loose,
walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the
fourth is like a son of the gods.”
[28] Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him,
and set at nought the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than
serve and worship any god except their own God."
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Commentary:
3:1-4:3 This story has a very different tone to that of the previous ones, though
the scene is still the court of Babylon. It has to do with a confrontation between
Jews, worshippers of the one true God, and Gentiles, who worship idols; a similar
situation arises in chapter 6. Following the Greek version (which is what the Catho-
lic Church follows and which is used in modern Catholic translations [including the
RSVCE]), the passage can be divided into three parts: the first tells about the
young men’s refusal to worship the statue set up by the king; for this they are con-
demned to the fiery furnace (3:1-23); the second part, which does not exist in the
Aramajc text, records the prayers that the young men say in the furnace (3:1:68:
notice the italic verse-numbering in chap. 3); the third tells about the king’s dis-
covering that they are unscathed; as a result, he praises the God of Israel
(3:24-4:3). The RSVCE notes to the book of Daniel on page 886 of this volume
provide a concordance of verse numbers for this passage.
The entire passage shows that God can save from death those who are ready to
die rather than worship idols. Early on, the king asks: “Who is the God that will
deliver you out of my hands?” (3:15); he provides the answer himself when he
says at the end: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who has sent his angel and delivered his servants” (3:28).
3:16-18. The young men’s answer is a model of what people’s attitude to God
should be when tragedy strikes and particularly when martyrdom beckons: they
should hope that God will come to their rescue, but even if he takes no action,
they should stay true to him. “Because of their faith, they believe that they can
escape death, but they say "if he does not deliver us out of your hand" so that
the king will know that they may also die in the arms of the God they love” (St
Cyprian, "Epistolae", 58, 5). They do not seek to “compel” God to save them;
they want to show that they obey his will, not the king’s. That is the attitude our
Lord had when his passion loomed: “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup
from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Lk 22:42).
3:24-4:3. At 3:24 the RSV in roman type links up again with the Aramaic text.
The Greek translations introduce these verses by saying that the king heard the
young men singing in the fiery furnace: hence his amazement; the Aramaic text
simply says that he was astonished that they were alive (v. 24). Their deliverance
reaches them in their place of torment, with the arrival of the angel to protect
them. Nebuchadnezzar, looking down, on the furnace, is able to see that they
are safe. To someone like the king, a believer in all sorts of gods,the fourth per-
son who looks like “a son of the gods” (v. 25) must have seemed a divine being;
but the author makes it clear that he is simply an angel (v. 28). It is through the
angel that God manifests his providence. The divine help given to the three young
men, Novatian comments, “will not allow even their clothes to be singed by flame.
This is just and right, for God sustains everything in the world in being and has
power over all, each and every thing; therefore, he can furnish any thing or person
with his help, since he is Lord of all” ("De Trinitate", 8, 43).
The Fathers saw this “son of the gods” as meaning Christ. Daniel knew the Son
of God and saw the works of God. He saw the Son of God who cooled the fires
of the furnace with dew. But when he says "Bless the Lord, all works of the Lord",
he does not include the Son among them, because he knows that He is not a
creature, but the One through whom all creatures were made, and who should be
praised and exalted in the Father” (St Athanasius, "Epistulae Ad Serapionem",
2, 6).
There is not a little irony in what the text says about the king’s reaction: he
praises the very fact that the young men disobeyed his orders, risking their lives
in the process, and he rewards them for doing so. The very people that the king
ordered to worship the statue set up by himself, now benefit from a decree that
commands that the God of the Jews is to be respected. The young men’s
heroism (their readiness to accept martyrdom) and their miraculous deliverance
have completely changed the king’s attitude.
Gospel Reading: John 8:31-42
Jesus Warns the Unbelieving Jews (Continuation)
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[31] Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in Him, "If you continue in My
word, you are truly My disciples, [32] and you will know the truth, and the truth
will make you free." [33] They answered Him, "We are descendants of Abraham,
and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, `You will be
made free'?"
[34] Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits
sin is a slave of sin. [35] The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the
son continues for ever. [36] So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
[37] I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill Me, be-
cause My word finds no place in you. [38] I speak of what I have seen with My
Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."
[39] They answered Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you
were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did, [40] but now you seek
to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not
what Abraham did. [41] You do what your father did." They said to Him, "We
were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." [42] Jesus said
them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded and came
forth from God; I came not on My own account, but He sent Me."
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Commentary:
30-32. Of those Jews who do believe in Him Jesus asks much more than a
shallow faith resulting from superficial enthusiasm: they should be true disciples;
Jesus' words should imbue their whole life. That kind of faith will bring them to
know the truth and to become really free persons.
The knowledge of the truth which Christ is speaking about is not just intellectual
knowledge; it is rather the maturing in the soul of the seed of divine Revelation.
That Revelation's climax is to be found in Christ's teaching and it constitutes a
genuine communication of supernatural life (cf. John 5:24): He who believes in
Jesus, and through Him in the Father, receives the wonderful gift of eternal life.
Knowing the truth is, in the last analysis, knowing Christ Himself, God become
man to save us; it means realizing that the inaccessible God has become man,
our Friend, our Life.
This is the only kind of knowledge which really sets us free, because it removes
us from a position of alienation from God--the state of sin and therefore of slavery
to the devil and to all attachments of our fallen nature--and puts us on the path
of friendship with God, the path of grace, of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the
liberation we obtain is not just light which shows us the way; it is grace, which
empowers us to keep to that way despite our limitations. "Jesus Christ meets
the man of every age, including our own, with the same words: `You will know
the truth, and the truth will make you free' (John 8:32). These words contain both
a fundamental requirement and a warning: the requirement of an honest relation-
ship with regard to truth as a condition for authentic freedom, and the warning to
avoid every kind of illusory freedom, every superficial unilateral freedom, every
freedom that fails to enter into the whole truth about man and the world. Today
also, even after two thousand years, we see Christ as the One who brings man
freedom based on truth, frees man from what curtails, diminishes and as it were
breaks off this freedom at its root, in man's soul, his heart and his conscience.
What a stupendous confirmation of this has been given and is still being given
by thosewho, thanks to Christ and in Christ, have reached true freedom and have
manifested it even in situations of external constraint!" (John Paul II, "Redemptor
Hominis", 12).
"Christ Himself links liberation particularly with knowledge of the truth; `You will
know the truth and the truth will make you free' (John 8:32). This sentence testi-
fies above all to the intimate significance of the freedom for which Christ liberates
us. Liberation means man's inner transformation, which is a consequence of the
knowledge of truth. The transformation is, therefore, a spiritual process, in which
man matures `in true righteousness and holiness' (Ephesians 4:24). [...] Truth is
important not only for the growth of human knowledge, deepening man's interior
life in this way; truth has also a prophetic significance and power. It constitutes
the content of testimony and it calls for testimony. We find this prophetic power
of truth in the teaching of Christ. As a prophet, as a witness to truth, Christ re-
peatedly opposes non-truth; He does so with great forcefulness and decision
and often He does not hesitate to condemn falsehood" (John Paul II, "General
Audience", 21 February 1979).
St. Thomas Aquinas explains the meaning of these words of our Lord in this way:
"In this passage, being made free does not refer to being freed of every type of
wrong [...]; it means being freed in the proper sense of the word, in three ways:
first, the truth of His teaching will free us from the error of untruth [...]; second,
the truth of grace will liberate us from the slavery of sin: `the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death' (Romans 8:2);
third, the truth of eternity in Christ Jesus will free us from decay (cf. Romans
8:21)" ("Commentary on St. John, in loc.").
"The truth will set you free. How great a truth is this, which opens the way to
freedom and gives it meaning throughout our lives. I will sum it up for you, with
the joy and certainty which flow from knowing there is a close relationship be-
tween God and His creatures. It is the knowledge that we have come from the
hands of God, that the Blessed Trinity looks upon us with predilection, that we
are children of so wonderful a Father. I ask my Lord to help us decide to take
this truth to heart, to dwell upon it day by day; only then will we be acting as
free men. Do not forget: anyone who does not realize that he is a child of God
is unaware of the deepest truth about himself. When he acts he lacks the do-
minion and self-mastery we find in those who love our Lord above all else" (St.
J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 26).
33-34. For centuries the people of Israel were ruled by other nations (Egypt,
Babylon, Persia...), and now they were under the dominion of Rome. Therefore,
the Jews thought that He was referring to political bondage or dominion--which in
fact they had experienced but never accepted. In addition, since they belong to
the people chosen by God, they regarded themselves as free of the moral errors
and aberrations of Gentile nations.
They thought that true freedom was a matter of belonging to the chosen people.
Our Lord replies that it is not enough to belong to the line of Abraham: true free-
dom consists in not being slaves of sin. Both Jews and Gentiles were subject to
the slavery of original sin and personal sin (cf. Romans 5:12; 6:20 and 8:2). Only
Christ, the Son of God, can liberate man from that sorry state (cf. Galatians
4:21-51); but these Jews do not understand the redemptive work which Christ is
doing and which will reach its climax in His death and resurrection
"The Savior", St. Augustine comments, "is here explaining that we will not be
freed from overlords, but from the devil; not from captivity of the body but from
malice of soul" ("Sermon", 48).
35-36. The words slave and son are reminiscent of the two sons of Abraham:
Ishmael, born of the slave woman Hagar, who would be given no part in the in-
heritance; and Isaac, son of the free woman Sarah, who would be the heir to
God's promises (cf. Genesis 21:10-12; Galatians 4:28-31). Physical descent
from Abraham is not enough for inheriting God's promises and attaining salvation:
by faith and charity one must identify oneself with Jesus Christ, the true and only
Son of the Father, the only one who can make us sons of God and thereby bring
us true freedom (cf. Romans 8:21; Galatians 4:31). Christ gives "power to be-
come children of God [to those] who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13). Thus, a person who
identifies himself with Christ becomes a son of God and obtains the freedom
proper to sons.
"Freedom finds its true meaning when it is put to the service of the truth which
redeems, when it is spent seeking God's infinite Love which liberates us from
all forms of slavery. Each passing day increases my yearning to proclaim to
the four winds this inexhaustible treasure that belongs to Christianity: `the glo-
rious freedom of the children of God!' (Romans 8:21). [...] Where does our
freedom come from? It comes from Christ our Lord. This is the freedom with
which He has ransomed us (cf. Galatians 4:31). That is why He teaches, `if the
Son makes you free, you will be free indeed' (John 8:36). We Christians do not
have to ask anyone to tell us the true meaning of this gift, because the only
freedom that can save man is Christian freedom" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of
God", 27 and 35).
37-41. Our Lord replies to the Jew's objection: yes indeed, they are Abraham's
children, but only in a natural sense, according to the flesh; this is something
which does not count any more; what matters now is acceptance of Jesus as
the One sent by the Father. Jesus' questioners are spiritually very far away from
being true children of Abraham: Abraham rejoiced to see the Messiah (cf. John
8:56); through his faith he was reckoned righteous (cf. Romans 4:1ff), and his
faith led him to act consequentially (cf. James 2:21-24); this was how he attained
the joy of eternal blessedness (cf. Matthew 8:11; Luke 16:24). Although those
Jews "derived from him the generation of the flesh, they had become degenerate,
by not imitating the faith of him whose sons they were" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann.
Evang.", 42, 1). Those who live by faith, St. Paul says, are the true sons of Abra-
ham and like him they will be blessed by God (cf. Galatians 3:7-9). In point of
fact, the people who are arguing with our Lord have not only rejected His teaching:
their own deeds indicate that they have a radically different affiliation: "You do
what your father did" is a veiled accusation that they are children of the devil (cf.
verse 44).
The false security Jews felt on the grounds of being descended from Abraham
has its parallel in a Christian who is content with being baptized and with a few
religious observances, but does not live up to the requirements of faith in Christ.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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